"Working on the emotional intelligence from the childhood makes it possible to better manage emotions during adulthood, and to be more resilient when facing adverse situations. Furthermore, it also helps to prevent violence in its various forms." This was stated by Vanesa  Galego, PhD in Education, belonging to the program Responsible Education of Fundación Botín, within the framework of the I Meeting of  ‘Academia y Sociedad', organized by the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) at the University of  Navarra, sponsored by Seguros Zurich.

The expert said that emotional intelligence plays an important role in the education of children and adolescents: "The emotional and motivational factor is essential for them for learning in a satisfactory manner and for relating to their peers and the rest of the educational community."

Vanesa Galego emphasized that the teacher is an important model. "He or she must manage his own emotions, working on the stress and emotions that are more frequently activated in his work (anger, anxiety). He should also teach children to regulate their emotions and channel them properly."

Shee also highlighted the importance of seeing the intervention in a comprehensive way, so that "a systematic and visible work of emotional and social skills in the classroom can be carried out." In this sense, she proposed working with the family and the rest of the educational community."

Affective Development, Cognitive Development and Social Skills

Finally, he referred to the Program Responsible Education of the Fundación Botín, which is carried out in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Government of Cantabria, Madrid, La Rioja and Navarra.

The pedagogue explained that in this initiative, three working areas are involved: the affective and emotional development (self-esteem, empathy, emotional expression and identification) cognitive development (emotional self-regulation, or self-control, responsible decision-making, positive attitudes towards health, universal values…) and social skills (interaction, self-affirmation or assertive opposition). At the same time, they work on creativity in all these areas.

"Our areas of intervention are the family, the community and the school. In this last one, we provide the professors with the necessary resources to apply them in the classroom. They are also given training; we follow their development and make an external evaluation of the process," she pointed out.

Vanesa Galego made these statements during her presentation ‘Emotional education and healthy growth of children and youth' in the roundtable discussion on ‘Emotional competences in family and educational areas', the first of three presentations which are scheduled within the I Meeting of ‘Academia y Sociedad'. This Forum, open to all citizens, is organized by the project ‘Emotional Culture and Society' of ICS, sponsored by Seguros Zurich. It seeks to analyze the building of healthy emotional contexts in the educational field as well as in health care and business.